Newsletters

LEAD Project – a real chance for the integration of young adults with disabilities into society

Why? Because we approach in an innovative way the relations between: young adults with disabilities; their parents and tutors; companies that have given our beneficiaries a chance; specialists and providers of Supported Employment services.

How? Since 2018, Health Action Overseas Foundation, as leading partner, Valakupiai Rehabilitation Center and Consultis – Consultoria Empresarial, Unipessoal Lda., with the support of Status Employment, our expert partner, have implemented in Romania, Lithuania and Portugal a good practice model regarding the Supported Employment, which has proven its viability in the United Kingdom.

About Supported Employment, at the future tense

In the end of the previous editorial, I was saying that we are going to widely promote the Supported Employment model, in addition to our daily work with our young beneficiaries, their parents and relatives and companies that have said YES to the challenge of integrating people with disabilities into their teams.

Why? First of all, this model is based on a win-win strategy: people with disabilities have the chance to get suitable jobs and keep them for the long term, while companies have the opportunity to hire dedicated and valuable workers.

Supported Employment, a chance for the employment of the young adults with disabilities

In the opening of the first issue of our newsletter, I was saying that the implementation of the project “Labour market Employment for young Adults with a Disability – LEAD”, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment, is a challenge for us in regard to what we want to change in the communities to which the project is addressed.

Why would you employ a young adult with disabilities through the LEAD project?

Studies show that teams which include people with disabilities often see improved productivity levels, and staff turnover is lower as a result. For example, employers whose activities include trade (supermarkets), services (cleaning) and the hospitality industry, reported that the integration of people with disabilities have improved staff retention. These people are loyal and dedicated, often because they are not given many opportunities to work and live an independent life. Many employers have reported increased profits as a result of hiring people with disabilities, especially through reduced costs in not having to recruit, employ and train new workers.

LEAD project continues, even during the pandemic

2020 is the most challenging year that many of us have been given to live. We all started it with optimism and many plans on our agenda, both professional and personal, but the Covid-19 pandemic, of a magnitude that no one could anticipate, forced us to reset our goals and aspirations. However, we, the LEAD team, did not give up on our mission.

Supported Employment yields results in Romania, Lithuania and Portugal

In 2018, when we set out on the challenging path of implementing the project “Labour market Employment for young Adults with a Disability – LEAD”, co-funded by the EEA and Norway Grants – Fund for Youth Employment, we promised we are going to approach in an innovative way the relations among young adults with disabilities, their parents and tutors, employers, specialists and providers of Supported Employment services.

LEAD project– challenges and results

In the opening of the first issue of our newsletter, I was saying that the implementation of the project “Labour market Employment for young Adults with a Disability – LEAD”, co-funded by the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment, is a challenge for us, not in terms of the indicators we have assumed, but with regard to what we want to change in the communities which we are addressing to.